Ruling delayed on sources in theater shooting case

By DAN ELLIOTT, Associated Press
| 3 p.m.April 10, 2013

FILE - In this March 12, 2013 file photo, James Holmes, left, and defense attorney Tamara Brady appear in district court in Centennial, Colo. for his arraignment. Court documents are raising new questions for the university that Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes attended before the July 20 theater shooting that left 12 people dead and 70 injured. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool, File)
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FILE - In this March 12, 2013 file photo, James Holmes, left, and defense attorney Tamara Brady appear in district court in Centennial, Colo. for his arraignment. Court documents are raising new questions for the university that Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes attended before the July 20 theater shooting that left 12 people dead and 70 injured. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool, File)
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Fox television reporter Jana Winter, right, and her attorneys arrive at district court for a hearing for Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes in Centennial, Colo., on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. Winter was subpoenaed to testify in Colorado about who gave her confidential information about a notebook James Holmes sent to his psychiatrist days before he allegedly opened fire on a crowded movie theater last July, killing 12 people. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)— AP

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Fox television reporter Jana Winter, right, and her attorneys arrive at district court for a hearing for Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes in Centennial, Colo., on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. Winter was subpoenaed to testify in Colorado about who gave her confidential information about a notebook James Holmes sent to his psychiatrist days before he allegedly opened fire on a crowded movie theater last July, killing 12 people. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
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A victim assistance advocate, right front, escorts victims and family members to court for a hearing for Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes at the courthouse in Centennial, Colo., on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)— AP

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A victim assistance advocate, right front, escorts victims and family members to court for a hearing for Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes at the courthouse in Centennial, Colo., on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
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Assistant district attorney Karen Pearson, right, and members of the prosecution team arrive for a hearing for Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes at the courthouse in Centennial, Colo., on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)— AP

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Assistant district attorney Karen Pearson, right, and members of the prosecution team arrive for a hearing for Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes at the courthouse in Centennial, Colo., on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
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CENTENNIAL, Colo. 
The judge in the Colorado theater shooting case delayed a decision Wednesday on whether to compel a Fox News reporter to disclose her sources for a story she wrote last year.

In the article, New York-based reporter Jana Winter cited anonymous law-enforcement sources who said shooting suspect James Holmes sent violent drawings to a University of Colorado, Denver psychiatrist before the attack.

Holmes' lawyers want to know the names of the law enforcement officials who spoke to Winter. They argue the leak violated a gag order and could weaken the credibility of those officials if they are called to testify in a trial.

On Wednesday, they asked Judge Carlos Samour Jr. to require Winter to disclose her sources. But Samour said he wouldn't decide until he eventually rules on whether the notebook will be admitted as evidence in the case.

Winter argues she should not have to identify her sources under Colorado and New York shield laws that protect reporters' sources under some circumstances. She was required to appear in court Wednesday and remains under subpoena until Aug. 19.

Holmes, who had been a student at the university, is charged with fatally shooting 12 people and injuring 70 at a movie theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora on July 20. A judge has entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Defense attorney Rebecca Higgs suggested Wednesday that police officers may have lied under oath when they denied speaking to Winter about the notebook's contents. That was sufficient reason to require Winter to testify, Higgs said.

Higgs said the issue is whether a law enforcement officer decided to "flat-out lie."

Aurora police Det. Alton Reed took the stand again and said he spoke only to another Aurora police department member about what he saw in the notebook. That person has already testified that he did not speak to Winter.

The judge on Wednesday also ordered both sides not to refer to any plea negotiations in any future court filings.

Ken Paulson, president of the First Amendment Center, which advocates for free speech and a free press, said Winter's reporting served the public interest.

"Jana Winter's reporting was important because it shed light on whether a public university had overlooked clear signals that the public was in danger," Paulson said. "What could be of greater public interest than that?"

If the judge orders Winter to reveal her sources and she refuses, she could be jailed.